By Rob Mueller
Staff Writer
Augusta Chronicle

With each Masters Tournament that passes for Arnold Palmer, there's always the chance it could be his last.

Perhaps that's why he wanted so badly to make the cut Friday.

``Every tournament I play in I want to make the cut,'' the 66-year-old Palmer said, after a 4-over par 76 second-round score at the Augusta National Golf Club. ``That's always the goal, and I figured I had a good shot this year.''

For Palmer, it would have taken a round of par Friday, combined with his first round score of 74, to come under the two-round cut of 2-over par 146. But the four-time Masters champion saw his chances slip away early.

``I didn't play all that badly, I think I would have made the cut if I didn't have four three-putts today,'' Palmer said. ``My problem was I putted off the green (on No. 10) and three-putted too much. The secret to scoring well was getting the ball to the (correct) side of the hole. It's the kind of course where anyone can get real hot, most of these guys can make 3 and 15 with ease. I hit 13, but the ball bounced off to the right and into a ditch.''

After hitting only 10 of 18 greens in regulation, Palmer putted 31 times Friday.

``There were still some precarious pin positions, but not like yesterday,'' said Palmer, who last made a Masters cut in 1983. ``There were some tough spots. They made the (pin placements) pretty difficult today, but the greens aren't as fast. In the morning, the greens were slower than any of the days I was here. I putted good yesterday, but had some trouble today.''

Amateur George ``Buddy'' Marucci, who played a dream first round with his boyhood hero Thursday, felt that making the cut was even more important than Palmer led on.

``Arnie's really grinding out there, he really wants to make it this year,'' said Marucci, after missing the cut himself in his first Masters with a two-round score of 16-over par 160.

It was the week-of-a-lifetime for Todd DeBello, Palmer's caddy. In his first Masters, the 26-year-old DeBello was caught up in the emotion of walking the course with the golf legend.

``Today, we're in jeopardy of missing the cut, and he's kidding around with kids on 15 and 16,'' DeBello said. ``I think the reason why people love him so much is that you can't ever tell if he's shooting a 65 or an 85.''

DeBello said the possibility that this could be Palmer's last Masters crossed his mind.

``I thought about that as we were walking up to the green at 18,'' DeBello said. ``The fan reaction to him was incredible. It was very emotional. He's gonna be 67 soon, so this could be his last one, I guess. It was a special week, something I'll never forget.''

Palmer, though, said he plans on coming back next year to play in his 43rd Masters.

He also realizes that in a year, anything can happen.

``I guess I think about that sometimes, not playing here any more,'' Palmer said. ``It's hard to keep this up forever, it's bound to come to an end sometime. Right now, I hope to be back in Augusta next year. At least, I plan to be.''